While the state still reels under the shock of the brutal rape of a 19-year-old IAS aspirant in Bhopal, another case of a 10-year-old’s sexual assault has come to light. The minor was allegedly sexually assaulted multiple times by three people over the last three months.
The accused, including a 65-year-old watchman (Nanhu Lal), allegedly gangraped the girl in the house of an accomplice, Suman Pandey, at least two to three times. Primary investigations revealed that the survivor, a Class 5 student, was last sexually assaulted on November 12, PTI reported. Other accused were identified as Gokul Panwala (45) and Gyanendra Pandit (36).
The revelation
The minor girl’s mother noticed that her daughter had been depressed and was mostly keeping quiet for the past few days. After coaxing her to explain what had happened, the girl narrated her ordeal.
Soon after, the survivor’s mother registered a complaint at the Jehangirabad police station on Thursday.
Accused arrested
The accused, including Suman Pandey, who had allegedly lured the girl to her home with a chocolate on multiple occasions were arrested on Thursday evening, Times Now reported.
Relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and under the Indian Penal Code have been slapped against the accused.
Earlier this month, a UPSC aspirant had been allegedly gangraped for three hours when she was on her way home from coaching classes in Bhopal.
Locals indulge in mob justice
People in the neighbourhood of the Old City thrashed the three accused who were being taken around the area as a part of the investigation process on Friday, News18 reports. A video that has since gone viral shows that the police and accused were cornered in a narrow by-lane. Subsequently, the accused were beaten up by the residents of the area.
Jehangirabad police claimed that they were in the area to collect the evidence, which included obscene videos, from the homes of the three men.
Feature image source: Representational